My name is Matt Carter. (mbcartersales on eBay)  Learn from MY THREE MISTAKES
Today I got taken...or Scammed...or Phished.  Whatever you want to call it, it happened to me and it put my whole financial life in jeopardy.  Please don't let it happen to you.  See the three mistakes I made and what I did to fix it at the end of this guide.

The email I received today had in the subject line "PayPal - Account Access Limited".  The reply email address looked like service@paypal.com.  In fact, the ACTUAL email address is from service@paypai.com  The sender used a capitol "I" to make it look official.

This email looked completely legit.  There is the PayPal logo and everything and it was sent to my paypal email address.  If you get this email, first log into your paypal account FROM YOUR BROWSER AT PAYPAL.COM....if the security issue doesn't show up, then send the email to spoof@paypal.com and then delete it completely.

Here is a copy of this email:

PayPal is constantly working to ensure security by regularly screening the accounts in our system. We recently reviewed your account, and we need more information to help us provide you with secure service. Until we can collect this information, your access to sensitive account features will be limited. We would like to restore your access as soon as possible, and we apologize for the inconvenience.

Why is my account access limited?

Your account access has been limited for the following reason(s):

·  Jan. 27, 2008: We have reason to believe that your account was accessed by a third party. Because protecting the security of your account is our primary concern, we have limited access to sensitive PayPal account features. We understand that this may be an inconvenience but please understand that this temporary limitation is for your protection.

(Your case ID for this reason is .) There was a  number here hyperlinked

How can I restore my account access?  (in the email the Resolution  Center is hyperlinked)

Please visit the  Resolution Center and complete the "Steps to Remove Limitations."


Completing all of the checklist items will automatically restore your account access.

I was stupid and clicked the link. MISTAKE #1 The first thing I noticed is that it didn't have my saved PayPal user id there...but I didn't think anything of it.  So I entered my paypal email and password....MISTAKE #2.

It will then take you to a place to enter your name, address, phone number, credit card.  It really looks like PayPal and you think you are protecting your account.  I did.  MISTAKE #3

So after those three MAJOR mistakes, I noticed that the email address wasn't PayPal (like I said earlier).

Here are the fixes that I took

1.) immediately changed PayPal password
2.) sent email to spoof@paypal.com
3.) called my bank

My bank suggested that I cancel the debit card and close that checking account.  All of which I did.  Luckily, that card has fraud protection...so even if this monster tried to use it and it worked...I am not liable for the charges.

I talked to a few other sellers today...and they have all seen this email (just weren't as stupid as I was).

Don't get taken in...but don't be embarrassed if you do.  It happens all the time.  Just QUICKLY take steps to protect yourself.  Then keep a very close eye on your bank account, paypal account, and watch your credit report closely for the next few months.  That is what I have to do....hopefully you won't because you read my guide...thanks for doing that